Russia sanctions: Haley hits back at WH; says she doesn’t get confused

Her credibility was at stake after US President Donald Trump and white House openly contradicted her claims of Washington considering to impose new sanctions on Russia for supporting Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons against his own people. The White House even said that US Ambassador to United Nations Nikki Haley had a "momentary confusion" over the additional sanctions against Moscow.

But Haley shot back at the version, saying "With all due respect, I don't get confused". She said this in a statement read by Diana Perino of Fox News and confirmed by CBS News on Tuesday, April 17.

Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration who took charge earlier this month, said Haley did a "great job" as an "effective ambassador" but reminded that she "got ahead of the curve".

He said there might have been some "momentary confusion", adding that additional sanctions were under consideration but not implemented. Kudlow was speaking to the press at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida where the American president met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

Haley told in CBS News's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, April 15, that the US was considering new sanctions on Russia and they were to be announced on Monday, April 16. But Trump contradicted her and was also reportedly displeased with Haley's public announcement.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also said that new sanctions were just under consideration.

It was said that Trump although promised to be tough on Russia, but at the same time he also stressed on having good relations with the Kremlin. Other sources in White House said that Trump thought new sanctions against Russia were unnecessary since the latter's response to the missile attacks on Syria on April 14 were mostly a rant, New York Times reported.

Haley has been a harsh critic of Russia and called the use of chemical weapons in Syria to be Russia's "unilateral responsibility".

On Friday, a day before the attack, Haley said in a meeting of the UN Security Council that Russia had asked to discuss 'unilateral threats' related to Syria, adding that Moscow was 'ignoring' the real threat to international peace and security that led to such a situation.

Haley said Russia was ignoring its own "unilateral responsibility" and the international community should discuss the use of deadly chemical weapons against innocent Syrian people.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor and the first-ever Indian-American to join a presidential administration in the US, has been a strong supporter of Trump's foreign policies and the president, too, has praised him in the past for her transition into a top diplomat. This is the first time that Haley was seen to be at odds with the Trump administration over a matter of foreign policy.